THE GROWTH OF FREEDOM IN THE BALKANS.* Wz are not
long in finding out that the author of The Growth of Freedom, in the Balkan Peninsula is what he would himself call a " Philoslav," or what we think we should be nearer the mark in calling a " Philoserb ;" for these notes of a traveller in the Balkan States and Greece are in a large measure devoted to the setting forth of the Great Servian Idea, the latter part of the volume dealing with recent events in Bulgaria, which Mr. Minchin visited shortly after the revolution of last August. The form which he has adopted for telling his tale is neither that of a historical work, nor of a narrative of travel, and he skips from Montenegro to Bosnia and Servia, thence to Greece, and back to Bulgaria, throwing in pages of history, comment, and prognostication by the way, without giving ue any clear idea of how or when he travelled, or whether we are following the course of one or several journeys.
Montenegro is the subject of the first chapter, and the Montenegrin, as a variety of Serb, enjoys the special favour of Mr. Minchin, who finds him on his native rocks, a " loyal, brave and tender-hearted man," with a lingering propensity to nose- cutting, it is true ; but that, we are assured, is a thing of the past, and is, indeed, excusable on the ground that it was dne to the Black Mountaineer's gentle disposition, and his scruples about taking the life of his Turkish captive (p. 13), upon whom he was, however, bound to put his mark. We should like to know how the author reconciles to himself his admiration for the Montenegrin "gentlemen," "the flower and aristocracy of the Slav race," with the some- what unflattering picture he draws of their idleness, their treatment of their women, their inordinate love of money, and their neglect of education, of the tombs of their fathers, and of common cleanliness. He admits, too, that once they leave their mountain, they too often become cut-throats, private and political, the latter expression alluding, if we mistake not, to their unenviable notoriety as the paid bullies and bravoes of Russian intrigue; so that, even on the showing of a friend, their undoubted courage and jealous love of liberty, their stalwart frames and picturesque dresses, are hardly sufficient to render them desirable acquaintances for peaceable folk, or engage the sympathies of others than Philoslays.
The second and third chapters are almost entirely devoted to a tirade against the alleged shortcomings of Austrian administra- tion in Bosnia, which Mr. Minchin appears to have visited some years ago. Bat it is somewhat surprising that these rather ancient and contradictory accusations are allowed to stand in the body of the book, when they are practically disposed of in Appendix II., upon the recent evidence of an independent witness, many years resident in Bosnia, who speaks in high terms of the progress effected of late years under the auspices of M. de Kallay. This is, indeed, an indication of Mr. Minchin's sincerity, and of his desire to give us both sides of the question; but the conclusions arrived at can hardly be favourable to his powers of discern- ment, which seem obscured by violent prejudice against Catholic Austria, which he is at no pains to conceal.
We would ask,—Are those Philoslays rendering a true service to the cause they champion who fan the smouldering fire of hostility among the Serbs against all that is Austrian and Catholic in the first place, and afterwards against anything or any one that comes between them and the realisation of their unrealisable ideal of a Great Servia, in which would be included not only Old Servia, Bosnia, and the Herzegovina, but Mace- donia down to Salonica P The contrast between Servia's pre- sent weakness and the inordinate ambitions with which she is
• The Groxth of Freedom in the Balkan Peninsula. By J. 0. 0. idlnehin. London: John Murray.
credited, would be ludicrous if it were not painful to many who wish her well. For all the glowing colours in which Servia's progress and prosperity are here painted, proofs are not wanting that she most learn to administer at home before attempting the control of tinnily provinces larger than herself, upon the dubious title afforded by their having formed a part of Stephen Da:Ian's empire.
Most of what we read here about Servian affairs appears to reflect official views, and the author even comes forward as an apologist for the recent policy of the present Government, and caste all the blame of the unjast war waged by them against Bulgaria upon Austrian diplomacy. The latter has, no doubt, deserved some of the hard things which have been said of it ; but that is no reason why we should excuse King Milan and his advisers for lending themselves so complacently as the instru- ments of that policy which the author so cordially detests. At the same time, the Russian intrigues in Servia come in for their share of reprobation, and the case made out against the Muscovite agents and their Servian Radical friends is much more damaging than the charges brought against Austria's conduct; for the latter has been an evil counsellor, if you will, but never a promoter of anarchy and sedition. The parts played by such Russian tools as Passitoh and Archbishop Michel are described at some length, and with a considerable knowledge of the inner working of parties in Servia ; but surely there must be some mistake in saying (p. 75) that Michel was born about forty-five years ago, and that he was consecrated a. Bishop in the reign of Alexander Karageorgevitcb, who abdi- cated in 1858, and made Archbishop by Milosch, who died in. 1860, when, if Mr. Minchin is right, the prelate could not have- been more than nineteen years of age !
We must here take exception to some other statement% respecting Servia which we cannot but regard as misleading. On p. 93, we are told that when Servia fought her second campaign against the Turks, relying only on her own Generals, she was successful all along the line. It is, however, a matter of history that Servia, after being let off very cheaply when totally defeated by the Turks in 1876, was careful not to declare war again until the Russians were victorious in 1877, and her successes all along the line were gained in the absence of any Turkish field force. Two pages farther on, we are asked to- believe that the majority of the Macedonians are rather Servians than anything else, and that their dialect resembles Servian much more closely than Bulgarian, the conclusion being that the larger portion of Macedonia will eventually fall to Servia's share. If such pretensions of Servia are encouraged by the author, it is worse than useless for him in another passage to preach union and alliance between. Servia and Bulgaria. as it is certain that when the time comes, the latter will never yield her claim to Central Macedonia without a struggle to the death, in which she would have the Macedonians mostly on her side. Another serious error is committed in attributing the Bregova quarrel between Servia and Bulgaria to the conduct of Karaveloff, when it was his bitter enemy Zankoff who was in power at the time, and who was responsible for the violent expulsion of the Servian guard. We are quite disposed to believe in Mr. Minchin'a fairmindedneas, but we think that in these and other cases he has been misled by the ver- sions supplied to him by some of the interested parties, which he has not been able to correct from personal know- ledge. For instance, few who have had to do with Servia will believe as he does in the freedom of Servian elections, any more than in the absolute incorruptibility of the Servian judicial Bench, or in the independence of the Government majority, con- sisting as it does in a considerable measure of Deputies nominated by the King. And one must have been a very short while in Servia, or else have been singularly fortunate, never to have seen or beard of a Servian drunkard.
The chief interest of the few pages devoted to Greece—of whose future Mr. Minchin takes an optimistic view—is centred in the interview with her leading statesman, M. Triconpie, who was very free in communicating his opinions on a variety of subjects. The sourness felt by the Greeks at England's action in compelling them to keep the peace towards Turkey is perhaps natural ; but we have not yet fathomed the depths of the author's criticism of our policy in that matter, which he declares was "tantamount to telling Russia that when it suits her con- venience, she may occupy Bulgaria and seize on Constantinople."
The chapters which naturally excite the greatest present . interest tell the story of this year's crisis in Bulgaria, which Mr. Minchin was in a position to hear from some of the most prominent actors in the drama very shortly after the counter- revolution which restored the kidnapped Prince to his Throne for a few days. Still, we are obliged to confess that he has not made the most of his material. The historical account which he gives of these thrilling events is substantially the same as that with which we are familiar from other sources ; but his text is marred by constant small inaccuracies, and proofs of insufficient study of previous Bulgarian history. A misapprehension of the gravestkind comes to light on p. 365, in the statement that " the ill-feeling between Slav and Hellene had almost died out, when it was revived in its full intensity by the establishment of a Bulgarian Exarchate." In the first place, this race-hatred had never been near dying out ; and in the second, the establishment of the Exarchate came as the result of a long and bitter struggle between the Bulgarian people and their Greek oppressors, the Bishops of the Phanar, for whom their hatred, far from having been revived, has, on the contrary, diminished with the removal of its chief cause. As minor errors, we would point out that Mr. Minchin gives the length of service in the Bulgarian infantry as three instead of two years, and the sum paid yearly by Bulgaria in liquidation of the ex- penses of the Russian occupation as £60,000, instead of £80,000. Also, the number of Russians who fell in 1877-78 is generally computed in round numbers at 100,000, and not, as here, at 200,000 men. The estimate of Slavelkoff, as "probably the first of peasant-poets in the world," and as " the Tyndale, Burns, Dr. Johnson, and Dickens of his country," is ridiculously exaggerated; and this " staunch Nationalist " is now said to be in Russian pay, and edits a newspaper advocating complete submission to the Czar, and the election of the Prince of Min- grelia to the Bulgarian Throne.
Sundry of the Slav names of persons and places have had some of their letters altered in transmission. Thus, the Regent Moutkouroff becomes" Montkouroff." Suknaroff is changed into "Sukuaroff," and Captain Nabonkoff, of Bourgas notoriety, into " Nabricoff ;" "Tirnova Semlin" takes the place of Tirnova Seymen, on the Roumelian Railway line, and " Plovdir " that of Plovdiv, the Bulgarian name of Philippopolis ; while the Cossack whip is here called a nap-ilea, in mistake for nagaika.
On the whole, we can hardly consider this volume a valuable contribution to the literature of the Eastern Question, either for the matter it contains, or for the manner in which it is put before us. Mr. Minchin's style is both laboured and jerky, and some of his chapters are a veritable pot-pourri of incongruous subjects. The anecdotes which he is fond of introducing for purposes of illustration are sometimes curiously deficient in point, and his eloquent passages are occasionally dangerously near the verge of bathos. Bat as a set-off, he has taken pains to consult the convenience of the reader by adding an ample index to his book, as well as a map and several appendices con- taining useful information. For this, and for his manifest sin- cerity of purpose, much may be forgiven him, and we may close the book re-echoing the sentiment to which he so frequently gives expression, that, with or without a Confederation, the Balkan lands may be for the peoples of the Balkans.
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